Partition cooling unit



A g 2y WM. H. J. KRACKOWIZER 2925mm PARTITION COOLING UNIT Filed Oct. 30, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet l g H. J. KRAckoWnzER 235mm PARTITION COOLING UNIT Filed Oct. 30, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 r Patented Aug. 12, 1*

2 @lainms...

My invention relates to refrigerated compartments and the cooling, facilities therefor and has reference more particularly to the provision of cooling facilities in the form of a unit which is mounted in the compartment, preferably at a place least accessible for storage, so as to serve as a partition by which the compartment is di vided into more or less separate storage spaces each oi which is subjected to the cooling effect of the cooling unit.

The principal objects of my invention are to provide an improved cooling unit and arrange ment thereof in a compartment; to utilize the cooling unit as a partition for dividing the cornpartment into separate sections; to subject each section to the cooling action of the cooling unit; to permit differential cooling of said sections; and to permit incorporation or the cooling unit in the compartment in an inconspicuous roanner, these and other objects being accomplished as pointed out hereinafter and as shown in. the accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. l is a perspective view oi a refrigerator with portions of the walls broken away to dis close the partition unit therein;

2 is an enlarged fragmentary detail sectional view on the line 22 oi Fist i but showing the parts unassembled;

its. 3 is a side view of the cooling unit with the side'panel removed and the lower end in section;

Fin. n is a front view of the cooling unit with the front panel removed;

figs, 5, 6 and l are detail transverse sectional views of the lower end oi. the cooling unitshowina' a modification thereof;

Fig. 8 a vertical longitudinal sectional view of a beer coolerlor the like having my invention incorporated therein;

Fin. 9 asectional view taken substantially on the line t---@ of Fla. 8;

Fig. id is a detail section view, slightly eniareed, taken on the line iii-id of Fig. 9; and

Fi ii is a detail view showing. a double valve arrangement for the cold air outlet.

Referring to the drawings in which I have shown several illustrative embodiments oi. my invention, Fig. 1 shows a refrigerator cabinet having insulated walls forming a closed compartment ii for food storage or the like, the front wall it being provided with openings permitting. access to the compartment and closed by doors it at one side or the central mullion Mi and one or more doors it at the other side thereof. 1

lviidway between the ends of the compartment and behind the mullion it is the cooling unit, indicated as a whole at it, which is of a ilat type extending substantially irom the mullion it to the rear wall iii of the compartment and from a point near the bottom of the compartment near to the top thereof so as to serve in effect as a partition dividing the compartment it into two storage spaces, one of which is accessible through the doors it at one side of the mullion. id and the other oi which is accessible through the one or more doors it? at the other side oi said mullion. Either or both of said storage spaces may be provided with shelves (not shown) it required for the particular purpose for which the refrigerator is to be used and these shelves may he supported in any convenient manner as for example by any well known form of mounting strips id at suitable locations on the walls which are preferably of a type permittingadiustrnent oi the shelves to selected elevations.

The cooling unit which is shown in detail in Figs. 3 and t is preferably at blower type com-- prising an outer shell or casing containing conventional cooling coils it in contact with which air is circulated by a fan it downwardly through the casing and discharged from the casing at the lower end thereoi. This casing comprises front and rear panels it and iii respectively to which side panels it are removahly secured in any con. venient manner, for example as shown in 2 by cell threading screws it engaged through openings it in the side panels tit and threaded into openings it of inturned flanges ill of the front and rear panels it and 22, the side panels it being preferably formed with flanges it along 1 their lateral edges which in the assembled structure overlap the margins oi the front and rear panels ti and it as will be apparent from Fig. 2.

Each panel iii and it has a mounting flange it near the upper end and these mounting flanges are seated upon and secured to mounting orack... ets ill on the mullion it and. back wall it respectively ior supporting the cooling unit in the compertinent and the cells it are engaged at their opposite ends through plates it which have outturned lower ends it secured to brackets it on the end panels at and it as shown in Fig. 3 for vided with fin plates it for rapid heat exchange'.

. The upper ends of the side panels it are bent outwardly as shown at 36 in Fig. 4 to provide the cooling unit casing with a flared upper end of suitable width to accommodate the fan 26 by a which air is circulated downwardly through the cooling unit casing, the upper end of the cooling unit casing being closed by a top wall 31 which has an opening 38 therethrough .through which the fan discharges. The fan is operated by a motor 39 which is mounted on the top wall 31 by a bridging 40 having a band 4| secured thereto surrounding the fan 26, braces 42 also being provided on the band 4| and secured to the top wall intermediate the points of attachment of the band to the bridging 46, and it will be understood supply pipe 43 and expansion valve 44, located in the casing l6 to the coils H! which have a return pipe 45 leading therefrom, and the ends of these pipes 43 and 45 are extended through the rear panel 22 of the casing |6 and provided with couplings 43 and 45 respectively by which suitable connection is made with the usual refrigerant compression and supply equipment (not shown) which may be located outside of the refrigerator cabinet.

The lower end of the cooling unit casing I6 is closed by a bottom wall 46 which has upturned margins 41 so that it serves as a drip pan for co1- lecting condensation from the coils l9 which is discharged from the pan 46 through a drain pipe 48 which may lead to any convenient place of disposal, and in order to discharge the cooled air 'from the coolingunit |6 to the compartment spaces at opposite sides thereof the lower ends of the side panels 23 may be provided with a se- .ries of vertically elongated openings 49 extending upwardly a suitable distance above the margins of the pan 46 as shown in Fig. 1 or the side panels 23 may terminate a suiflcient distance above the margins of the pan 46 to leave discharge openings 50 at opposite sides of the casing I6 and these openings may be covered by screens as shownv in Figs. 3 .and 4. To insure uniformity of distribution of the cooled air through the cooling unit outlets 56 an inverted V-shaped deflec- .tor,52 is provided which extends from end to end of the-bottom wall 46 as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

Other forms of deflector may be employed as for example as shown at 53 in Figs. 5, 6 and '7v wherein the deflector extends from front to rear of the casing |6 and-is provided with an apertured ear 54 at each end by which the deflector is bolted or otherwise secured to the front and rear walls 2| and 22. By providing these walls 2| and 22 with suitable bolt holes 55, 56 and 51,

- the deflector 53 may be selectively located in the three optional positions shown respectively in Figs. 5,6 and 7 in the first of which the air is distributed equally through the opposed openthere is sufiicient air movement and proximity of the compartment to the cooling unit to insure a cold condition in that compartment. Thus the compartment space at the one side may be used for goods susceptible to dehydration while the other side into which the air is deflected by the Fig. 6 or Fig. '7 arrangement of the deflector 53 may be used for goods that are not susceptible to dehydration or which are desired to be more intensely cooled than those in the other side.

Referring now to Figs. 8, 9 and 10 which show my invention embodied in a beer cooler or the like, the reference numeral 58 indicates the cooler cabinet which is of elongated form with insulated walls throughout except at the top which is closed by a pair of sliding doors 59 which overlap at the center of the cabinet as shown in Fig. 8,.these doors being mounted in guides 60 along which they slide to the open and closed positions thereof.

A cooling unit 6| similar to that previously described is located in an upright position midway between the ends of the cabinet so as to divide the compartment into two cooling spaces, both of which are exposed to the cooling effect of the cooling unit 6|.

This cooling unit is relatively short as compared with the previously described cooling unit I6 and preferably thicker to accommodate extra width for cooling coils 62 and has side panels 63 with attaching flanges 64 at the ends secured directly to the front and rear walls of the cabinet. Front and rear panels, corresponding to the panels 3| of the previous cooling unit l6 are thus dispensed with and the end plates 65 through which the opposite ends of the coils 62 project and by which the coils are supported are formed at their upper ends with outturned portions 66 which are secured to said cabinet walls, the lower ends of said plates 65 being turned outwardly as shown at 61 to close the lower ends of the spaces between the plates 65 and the respective walls to which said plates are attached.

The-upper ends of the side plates 63 are bent outwardly slightly as shown in Fig. 8 to provide a flared upper end which is closed by a top plate 68 and this top plate has an opening 69 therethrough over which a fan 10 and motor H are mounted onthe top plate 68 in the same manner as the fan 26 and motor 39 are mounted in the previously described cooling unit'l6, the fan being likewise surrounded by a band 12 and operable by the motor TI to discharge air downward- 1y into and through the casing of the coolingunit 6|.

Like in the previous cooling unit |6,-a pipe 13 supplies compressed refrigerant through an expansion valve 14 to the coils 62 which have a return pipe 15 leading therefrom and these pipes 13 and 15 have couplings 13 and .15 at their ends for connection with pipes 13 and 15' respectively which lead therefrom through the rear wall of the compartment to refrigerating equipment which compresses and supplies refrigerant to the coils 62 in the usual manner.

The bottom 16 of the beer cooler compartment slopes downwardly to the center of the compartment as shown in Fig. 8 for drainage purposes and has a drain outlet 11 at the low center and the cooling unit 6| has an open bottom which is elevated sufiiciently above the low central portion of the compartment bottom to permit free outflow of the cooled air from the cooling unit.

Perforated or screen panels 18 are providedat opposite sides of the cooling unit 6| to support the bottles of beer or other articles to be cooled in the compartment spaces, these panels being supported above the compartment bottom it by angle irons 19 on the compartment end walls and brackets 80 on the compartment front and rear walls near the cooling unit hi and it will be noted that the inner ends of the panels it are above the lower end of the cooling unit it so that the cold air from the cooling unit is discharged into 7 the space between the panels id and the bottom iii of the compartment. By reason of the upward slope of the bottom it irom the center of the compartment to the ends and the screens or perforated panels it which support the compartment contents above the bottom, the cooled air is spread outwardly toward the ends of the compartment and distributed quite uniformly through the screen or perforated panel openings to the compartment thereabove in beer cooling it is desirable to provide two cooling compartments, one of which serves as a pro-cooling compartment and in the other of which fully cooled beer ready to serve may be lrept separate from new supplies which are in the process oi cooling and the interposition of the cooling unit it midway between the ends of the beer cooler afiords two separate compartmerits which are useful for thm purpose. Moreover it is desirable to intensify the cooling in the pro-cooling compartment and for convenient accomplishment 01 this purpose, I have provided in the bottom of the compartment directly under the cooling unit iii a damper ill which extends from the front wall of the compartment to the rear wall thereof and is pivoted along its central axis to said walls as indicated at it to swin from the position shown in full lines in Fig. c to the dotted line position di of said figure, This damper is of sufficient width and properly mount ed between the lower end of the cooling unit it and the bottom of the compartment to substantially close ofi air discharge from. the cooling unit to either selected and of the compartment and direct the cooled air supply to the other end so that the latter end is more intensely cooled and either end oi the compartment may accordingly be used as the storage space from. which to serve the fully cooled beer while the other end of the compartment may be used for pro-cooling. i

lhus with the damper ti arrangement as shown in Fig. ii the compartment at the left and would be used for the fully cooled ready to serve beer while a new supply is being cooled in the com pertinent at the right end of the cooler and after the fully cooled supply is exhausted from the left end compartment, the damper ti would be adjusted to the dotted line position hi in which the cooling would then be'intensified in the left end compartment and the beer would then be served from the right end compartment while the compartment at the other end was refilled and the new supply pro-cooled. Each end compartment has an individual door lid so that access may be had to either selected compartment without substantial wastage of cold from the other compartment and it will be understood that since the cold air is being supplied to the precooling compartment, the circulation of cold air from the cooling system is more or less localized within that compartment, thus avoiding wastage of cold air from the cooling system through the door to the other compartment which is opened from time to time as the beer is served.

For convenience in adjusting the damper M,

till

the latter has a stem 83 fixed thereto at one end and projecting through the front wall 015 the cabinet with an operating handle it on the other exposed end by which the damper is adjusted, and this handle by its position serves also to show the position of adjustment of the damper all.

Other forms of dampers or valves may be em ployed to control the supply of cooled air to the compartment spaces at the opposite sides oi the cooling unit, for example as shown in Fig. ll. wherein two valves at are employed with their inner edges in close adjoining relation and pivoted at the opposite ends of their respective inner edges to the front and rear walls oi the cabinet, and each valve or preferably has a pivoting stem extending through the front wall and provided with an operating handle similar to the stem as and handle til of the damper hi so that each damper or valve lid is independently adjustable.

The inner edges oi the dampers or valves do are pivoted substantially midway between the bottom oi the compartment and the lower end of the cooling unit so that when both dampers til are swung downwardly with their outer edges lying against the compartment bottom they form an oppositely inclined deflector affording canal ized distribution of air from the cooling unit to the two compartment spaces at the opposite sides thereof. Either damper it may be closed against the lower end of the cooling unit to discharge the cooled air outflow from the cooling unit selectively to either compartment space or these dampers may be adjusted to intermediate posi tions to vary the relative amount of cooled air supplied to the compartment spaces.

While I have indicated herein that in the illustrated embodiments the air is circulated downwardly through the cooling unit and such direction of circulation is usually preferred, the

fan may be operated to circulate the air upwardly if desired or may be reversible for selective ctr-= culation of the air in either direction at will.

While I have shown and described my inven tion in a preferred form, I am aware that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the principles of my invention, the scope oil which is to be determined by the appended claims. a

' i claim as my invention:

1. In a refrigerator, the combination of a walled enclosure with a cooling compartment therein, means in the compartment comprising an upright hollow partition like housing which separates one portion of the compartment from another portion thereof, said housing being spaced from the top of the compartment and having a fan mounted on the upper end and operable to withdraw air irom each compartment and discharge same downwardly through the housing, means at the lower end of the housing permitting discharge of air from the interior of the housing into the aforesaid portions of the compartment, said means including a valve adjustable to control the air supply to said portions, means at the exterior of the compartment for adjusting said valve, and cooling coils in the housing in the path of air circulation therethrough.

chambers each accessible through one of the a fan associated with the cooling unit and operable to circulate air from each chamber through the cooling unit and back to said chambers, a perforate panel at each side of the cooling unit and elevated above the bottom of the compartment, and valve means at the lower end of the cooling unit and operable to selectively discharge the air from the cooling unit into the compartment space below either panel, each said compartment spaces having the bottom walls thereof below the panel sloped upwardly to the outer end of the respective compartment space so as to gradually diminish such compartment space and equalize the distribution of air discharge through the respective panel throughout the area thereof.

4. In a refrigerator, the combination of a walled enclosure with a cooling compartment therein, means in the compartment comprising a hollow partition like housing which separates one portion of the compartment from another portion thereof, said housing having spaced inlet and outlet means, providing inlet and outlet communication thereof with each of said compartment portions, cooling coils in the housing between said openings, and a blower operable to circulate air through the housing in contact with the coils from the inlet means to the outlet means, said outlet means including a pair of valves positionable in oppositely inclined relation to provide a deflector by which the air is distributed equally to said compartment portions and each valve being independently adjustable to selectively regulate the air supplied to said compartment portions.

5. A refrigerator having a cooling chamber, and a combined cooling and partition unit dividing the chamber into opposite compartments, said unit including a housing supported within the chamber, spaced from a pair of confronting walls thereof and in communication at its top and bottom with each compartment, cooling coils carried by and within the housing, and a blower carried by the housing for circulating air from the compartments into the housing and through the housing in contact with the coils, and then out of the housing and into each compartment, said combined cooling and partition unit being self-contained and insertible as a whole with respect to the cooling chamber.

6. In a refrigerator, the combination with an enclosure having a cooling compartment, of a self-contained combined partition and cooling unit within and dividing the compartment into opposite sections and insertable and removable as a unit, said unit comprising cooling coils, an upright closed housing terminating at its top short of the top of the compartment and having air flow openings at opposite ends thereof, the walls of the housing forming a channel enclosing said coils and constructed to direct a current of air from said opening across the coils, a blower mounted on the housing and positioned to afiect a flow of air from opposite sides of the housing through one of the air flow openings into the housing and across the cooling coils therein and'out through the air flow opening at the opposite end of the housing, a substantially horizontal perforate panel within each cooling compartment section and supported above the bottom of the compartment and at a higher level than the lower air flow opening of the housing, and deflector means for directing the flow of air from the bottom of the housing selectively to opposite sides of the housing and beneath the perforate panels.

'7. In a refrigerator, the combination with an enclosure having a cooling compartment, of a self-contained combined partition and cooling unit within the compartment and dividing the same into opposite sections and comprising cooling coils, an upright housing flared outwardly and upwardly and provided in its top wall with an air flow opening of greater width than that of the unfiared housing portion, the walls of the housing I forming a channel enclosing said coils and constructed to direct a current of air from said opening across the coils, opposite side Walls of the housing having air flow openings at the bottom of the housing, the top of the housing terminating short of the top of the cooling compartment, a blower mounted upon the top wall of the housing in position to affect a flow of air from opposite sides of the housing and into the housing through the air fiow opening at one end of the housing and across the cooling coils therein and out through the air flow opening at the opposite end of the housing.

HERMANN J. KRACKOWIZER. 

